Press Release from the Senate Department for Labor, Social Affairs, Gender Equality, Integration, Diversity, and Anti-Discrimination on August 14, 2023 wrote, Katarina Niewiedzial, the Commissioner for Integration and Migration in Berlin, emphasized that despite Germany’s pledge to provide refuge, around 14,000 vulnerable individuals in Afghanistan are still awaiting their chance to leave. She stressed that both the federal government and the state of Berlin have a responsibility to fulfill. Berlin is a member of the International Safe Harbors Alliance and has the capability to honor its commitment to host Afghan people, as laid out in the state reception program introduced in 2021.
Since the Taliban captured Kabul on August 15, 2021, Afghanistan’s situation has significantly worsened. Basic rights and freedoms, particularly for girls and women, have been curtailed, and those opposing the oppressive regime are facing the threat of imprisonment, torture, and even execution.
Back on August 19, 2021, the Berlin Senate greenlit a state reception program aimed at providing a safe haven in Berlin over five years for 500 especially vulnerable individuals from Afghanistan, including media and arts professionals, human rights defenders, and opposition figures. Surprisingly, not a single person has been granted entry under this program in Berlin during the past two years.
Berlin enjoys an engaged Afghan civil society, and close collaboration between the Commissioner for Integration and Migration and this civil society supports processes of arrival, advice, and integration. On the second anniversary of Kabul’s fall, concerns were raised by NGO representatives and experts at the Afghanistan Roundtable regarding the sluggish progress in implementing federal and state reception programs.
Katarina Niewiedzial emphasized that Berlin has a moral duty to provide refuge for Afghans facing the threats of torture and death. She urged the state, federal government, and EU member states to act swiftly and consistently, honoring their commitments.
As an external reporter covering this development, the ongoing struggles of vulnerable Afghan individuals seeking refuge in Germany are evident. The Commissioner’s urgent call for action from both federal and state authorities underscores the necessity of a quick response to the evolving crisis in Afghanistan.
German Link:
https://www.berlin.de/sen/ias/presse/pressemitteilungen/2023/pressemitteilung.1356002.php
Foto von Farid Ershad auf Unsplash
